LAst Night's Action: Clips Edge Bobcats for Second Consecutive Win

LA Clippers defeat Charlotte Bobcats 98-94. After some very painful games, the Clippers have now won two games in a row for their interim head coach Kim Hughes. The Clippers leading for most of the game lost control in the third quarter due to sloppy ball handling giving the lead to the Bobcats, but the Bobcats returned the favor in the fourth quarter. New additions Drew Gooden and Travis Outlaw scored 10 points each in their Clippers debut. Four starters also scored double digits with Rasual Butler leading the way with 20 points. Both Baron Davis (10 points, 10 assists) and Chris Kaman (18 points, 13 rebounds) got a double-double for the Clips. For the Bobcats, Gerald Wallace led the way with 32 points while grabbing 12 rebounds.

Notable Notes

• Most of the Olympic coverage here on LAist has been relegated to the television listings because quite frankly it’s been hard to get excited over psychotic cardio exercises and X-Games excess. But the US 5-3 upset over Canada Sunday night was the first moment of pure excitement.

  
  While it was not an upset on par with the “Miracle on Ice” exactly 30 years ago in Lake Placid against the USSR, it was an amazing win for the US considering the Canadians fielded a team stocked with NHL stars and playing a home game in front of a decidedly Canadian crowd. With American goalie Ryan Miller standing on his head (which at times seemed to be a literal phrase) especially in the third period surviving the blitzkrieg of Canadian shots, it proved yet again that a great goalie can equalize the shortcomings of a team.

  Now the US heads into the elimination rounds with a bye before the quarterfinals while Canada needs to play in to continue on. Also the US will not have to face either Canada or Russia until the finals if they make it that far. Let the nationalism ring on!